Automatic slack-adjusting device.



PATENTBD JUNE 6, 1905.

APPLICATION FILEDl JUNE 11,1904. EBNBWED MAY 6,1905.

witness 5E, if. @am

NITED STATES Patented .Tune 6, 1905.

PATENT muon.

JOHN O. MCOABE AND JOSEPH E. PAYTON, OF DURANGO, COLORADO.

AUTOMATIC SLACK-ADJUSTING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 791,932, dated .T une 6, 1905.

Application filed June 1l, 1904. Renewed May 6, 1905. Serial No. 259,230.

To @ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN C. MoCABn and JOSEPH E. PAYTON, citizens of the United States, residing at Durango, in the county of La Plata and State of Colorado, have invented new and useful Improvements in Automatic Slack-Adjusting Devices, of which the following is a specication.

Our invention relates to improvements in slack-adjusters, the object being to provide a safe, eiicient, andan automatically-acting adj uster for placement between the meeting buffer ends of a locomotive and the tender, whereby the slack occasioned by the wear and tear of the coupling-pins and the draw-bar will be automatically taken up and compensated for.

The device is utilized in connection with the drop-wedge on the front of the tender and comprises a stationary member secured to the stand-plate of the locomotive, a sliding member, and a rearwardly-adjustable member.

The invention generally consists of the novel construction of parts and their aggroupment in operative combination, as will be hereinafter fully described and the asserted novelty then particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed.

lVe have fully and clearly illustrated the improvements in the annexed drawings, to be taken as a part of this specification, and where- 1n- Figure 1 is a top plan view of the device, partly broken away to show the arrangement of the parts and showing the automaticallyacting wedge as connected to the piston-rod of an air-cylinder which is shown in longitudinal central section. Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. l, showing the vertical arrangement of the dropwedge on the tender. Fig. 3 is an end view in elevation of the device. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the adjustable buder-piece.

ln the drawings the same parts appearing in the several illustrations are designated by like reference notations.

Referring to the drawings, the lines A and A indicate, conventionally, the approaching or meeting ends of a locomotive and a tender, respectively.

B designates a substantial housing made of Vjected to in use.

proper metal and of such capacity as will suit it for the very material strains and jars it is sub- It consists of an upper overhanging plate and lower or bottom plate united by an integral vertical plate, substantially as shown in the drawings. The back or vertical wall of the housing has its inner face l inclined in the direction of its length coincidently with the opposite incline of the adjustingwedge, which lies contiguous to it, as shown in Fig. l, so as to coact and position the outer face of the adjusting-wedge on a right line.

C designates the adjusting-wedge arranged lbetween the upper and lower flanges of the housing, with one of its faces contacting with the inclined wall of the housing, so as to bring the outer face of the wedge on a straight plane, as shown in the drawings. The upper edge of the wedge is provided with a rack 2, which is engaged by a pawl 3, pivotally supported on the Lipper iange or plate of the housing at the end to prevent the wedge from sliding back under such exigencies as may happen. The head of the wedge is provided with connecting-ears 4. to unite it with the piston-rod of the air-cylinder or other actuating means.

D designates the buffer-block arranged slidably between the plates of the housing, as shown. The housing at one end is formed with elongated slots 5, and the buffer-block D is provided with bearings 6, which are slidably arranged in the slots,` whereby the buffer-block is retained in its relation to the wedge and permitted to loe moved outward by the wedge to take up the slack that may be present at any time.

The wedge may be operated by any proper force, such as connection to an air-cylinder, an expansive spring exerting its force on the head of the piston, or any power which will exert a constant force to push the wedge inward, as occasion may require. We have shown the means for adjust-ing the wedge to suit the slack as comprising an air-cylinderE, which is supplied with air through av valvecontrolled pipe 7, leading from the source, a piston 8 in the cylinder with its piston-rod united to the ears i on the head oi' the wedge. It will be readily perceived that should any IOO u la

slack occur between the pins and the drawbars of the coupling the buffer-block and the wedge will be correspondingly affected and that this slack will be immediately taken up by the action of the piston on the head of the wedge, the movement being automatic.

To the tail end of the tender is firmly secured a buffer-block 9, having a vertical tapering dovetail groove lO, in which is fitted the drop-wedge 11, substantially as seen in the drawings, with its oval or rounded outer surface extending' beyond the face of the buffer-block 9 and in position to contact with the face of the buffer-block D. It will now be perceived that if there be any slack occasioned between the pins and draw-bars the wedge will be moved automatically inward by the action ot' the piston and the slack between the parts be immediately taken up and remedied, the buffer-block being pushed outward by the wedge into tight contact with the drop-wedge, as shown in Fig. l.

It will be 4readily seen that the action of the parts will keep the draw-bars between the engine and the tender tight at all times, and as the draw-bars and pins wear the piston or the spring in the cylinder will push the wedge C inward, and thus take up the slack.

It may be stated that so far as we are aware it is necessary to drive a wedge in with a sledge or bar while the engine is standing and by which it is ditlicult to take up all the slack, and since a single wedge is used in the present appliances ot' the kind the drop-wedge on the tender wears a hollow place in the takeup-slaek wedge, causing' shoulders to wear, which prevents the slackwedge Jfrom being driven in to take up the lost motion of the draw-bar and the pin. vWhen this slack is not taken up, it causes the holes in the drawbar to wear larger and the pins to bend, and should the engine be started up with a jerk or stopped with a jar accidents or other damaging results are likely to occur by the drawbar or the pins breaking'. It will further be seen that with this automatically-acting adjuster, because of the solid rear member with the inclined face coacting with the inner face of the adjustable wedge, disposed with its outer face on a straight line against the buffer-block, which is held against endwise movement, the slack will be taken up, notwithstanding that the drop-wedge may have worn a groove in the face.

The wedge may be slackened with ease to permit the examination of the draw-bar and pins, and as the draw-bars and pins have to be frequently examined to see that they are in good and safe condition, with this device this examination can be easily made. Again, when work has to be done on either the engine or the tender and they are separated for the purpose it frequently happens, as when the draw-bar has been shortened, the old holes in the casting on the engine and tender will not correspond with the holes in the shortened draw-bar. The invention obviates this trouble and the new adjustment may be easily made.

Should the air for any reason fail to actuate the piston, an expansive spring 12, mounted between the head of the cylinder and the rear face of the piston, serves that purpose, as shown in Fig. l of the drawings.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is i 1. A device for taking up the draw-bar slack between the locomotive and the tender, comprising` a stationary member, an out- .wardly-movable member, a movable wedge between the members to push the movable member outward against the tender, and automatic means to move the wedge.

2. A device for taking up the draw-bar slack between the locomotive and its tender, comprising a stationary member having its inner wall inclined in lengthwise direction, an adjustable wedge disposed against the inclined face of the stationary member, an outwardlymovable buffer-block positioned against the outer face of the wedge, and means to automatically adjust the wedge lengthwise.

3. A device for taking up the draw-bar slack between a locomotive and its tender, comprising a housing secured to the locomotive and formed with a vertical wall inclined in lengthwise direction, a wedge disposed with one face against the inclined wall of the housing, an outwardly-movable buffer-block positioned in the housing with its inner face against the wedge, and automatic means to push the wedge between the inclined wall of the housing and the butter-block.

4. A device for taking up the draw-bar slack between a locomotive and its tender, comprising a housing secured to the locomotive and formed with a vertical wall inclined in lengthwise direction, a wedge disposed with one face against the inclined wall of the housing and formed with a rack at its inner end, a pawl on the housing to engage the rack on the wedge, an outwardly-movable buffer-block positioned against the wedge, and automatically-acting means to push the wedge between the inclined wall and the inner face of the buffer-block.

5. A device for taking up the draw-bar slack between a locomotive and its tender, comprising' a housing secured to the locomotive and formed 'with a vertical wall inclined in lengthwise direction and provided with transversely-directed bearing-slots in its upper and lower walls, a wedge disposed with one face against the inclined wall of the housing and formed with a rack at its inner end, a pawl on the housing to engage the rack, an outwardly-movable buffer-block positioned against the wedge and formed with bearinglugs on its upper and lower faces lto slidably engage in the bearing-slots of the housing,

IOO

and automatically-acting meansl to push the wedge between the inclined wall and the inner face of the buffer-block.

6. A device for taking up the draw-bar slack between a locomotive and its tender, comprising a housing secured to the locomotive andiformed with avertical wall inclined in lengthwise direction and provided with transversely-directed bearing-slots in its upper and lower walls, a wedge disposed with one face against the inclined wall of the housing and formed with a rack at its inner end, a pawl on the housing to engage the rack, an outwardlymovable bilder-block positioned against the wedge and formed with bearing-lugs on its upper and lower faces to slidably engage in the bearing-slots of the housing, an air-cylinder, a piston in the cylinder having its rod connected to the head of the wedge to push it between the members of the housing.

In testimony whereof we ax our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN C. MCCABE. JOSEPH E. PAYTON.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR C. SLoAN, Jr., FRANK RoBBINs. 

